Prep Golf Roundup: Elma’s Moore, Montesano girls team place top-5 at state-golf meet

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 21, 2026

Elma’s Olivia Moore and the Montesano Bulldogs girls golf team placed hit atop the leaderboard at the conclusion of the WIAA State Golf Championships on Wednesday.

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GIRLS PREP GOLF

Elma’s Moore fifth, Monte girls fourth at 1A State Championships

Elma senior Olivia Moore and the Montesano girls golf team each placed top-five at the 1A State Girls Golf Championhships on Tuesday-Wednesday at the MeadowWood Golf Course in Liberty Lake.

Moore capped off her impressive prep career with her fourth top-five finish, placing fifth overall with a score of 162.

The Eagles senior bounced back after a rough Day 1 score of 85 to shoot a 77 in the final day of competition, earning her fourth all-state honor in the process.

After dealing with higher winds and admittedly not having her best shots off the tee at the tournament, Moore locked in for an 8-stroke improvement on Day 2.

“On Day 1, I allowed mistakes to basically snowball,” Olivia Moore said. “I got in my head, got rushed and got out of rhythm really quickly. I guess I just kind of learned my lesson on Day 2. I wouldn’t allow that to happen again because I knew my swing was there all week and I didn’t want to allow mental errors to cause the same issues it had the day before. … Even though I don’t have my best driver, I can still hit other clubs and still get easy pars and have easy approach shot. I had a pretty solid plan coming into this week. So I wasn’t too concerned. … I was confident that if I dind’t hit my best shot, and I didn’t have a lot of great driver shots, it would be good enough.”

“She didn’t have her driver working these last two days, but today she played pretty mature and was able to manufacture a better score by being a little bit more patient and better with her putter and wedges,” Elma head coach and her father, Ryan Moore said. “The back-9 is pretty tough at this golf course. It has a lot of water and hills and with the wind yesterday, it was tough on everybody. Olivia was just a little bit more calm and patient today and let it come to her.”

Olivia Moore placed second overall in the state tournament her freshman year followed by fourth, third and now a fifth-place finish to close out her prep career.

“This is her lowest placement, but it was probably the best competition we’ve seen at 1A for sure,” Ryan Moore said about his daughter’s accomplishments at the state tourney. “I think it just shows the level of commitment she has to the game and how much she loves it. When she was younger, she was freer and now that the pressure has mounted, it has become trickier. So I’m really proud of the way she has stuck through these last couple of years. … We’re really proud of her career at Elma. She’s done a great job for us and for herself. She’s real steady as a golfer and it’s real fun to watch.”

“I definitely didn’t know what to expect at the state level going into high school. I didn’t know what the competition looked like,” Olivia Moore said. “Once I got started though, I was really comfortable and knew I belonged in the top-five every year. I think I placed where I should be these past four years.”

Led by a top-10 finish from junior Lucy Scott, the Montesano Bulldogs scored 32 points to place fourth overall in the team standings.

Scott’s two-day total of 170 tied with Meridian’s Kali Tan for seventh place on the leaderboard.

Montesano juniors Rory Gourdin (189, 26th) and Makena Blancas (190, 27th-tie) made the cut to round out the Bulldogs’ team score.

“What a great way to finish off our season. Starting with our girls, it is not very often that teams bring home a trophy and our girls did just that! That cemented themselves in history as one of the best 1A teams in the state!,” Montesano head coach Tyler Grajek said. “Lucy led the charge with an incredible seventh-place finish. Her poise, confidence and constant belief carried her through the tournament where she put together a flawless Day 2 to secure her spot in the top 10. Rory and Makena backed her up with two solid days to earn themselves top-30 finishes and propel the team into the top four. We are extremely proud of these girls. Their effort all season long helped them prepare for this opportunity. They approached every practice, match and tournament with a positive mindset and knew it was just another opportunity to get better. They should all be so proud of their contributions to the team and for their own individual achievements. I would also like to recognize our JV girls who worked hard all year, challenged our varsity team, and provided so much support. We are truly blessed to have such a great group of girls and we are excited for what next season has to offer.”

Team standings

1, Overlake, 133 points. 2, Medical Lake, 45. 3, Cascade Christian, 34.5. 4, Montesano, 32. 5, Chelan, 21.

Individual results (top 10 and local)

1, Kendria Wang, Overlake, 67-72-139. 2, Ginevra Saloy, Seattle Christian School, 73-76-149. 3, Madison Griffis, Medial Lake, 81-74-155. 4, Makenna Kelpman, Life Christian Academy, 80-76-156. 5, Olivia Moore, Elma, 85-77-162. 6, Reena Lin, Overlake, 89-79-168. 7-tie, Lucy Scott, Montesano, 85-85-170. 7-t, Kali Tan, Meridian, 89-81-170. 9-t, Audrey Kwon, Overlake, 89-85-174. 9-t, Meredith Chen, The Bush School, 88-86-174. 26, Rory Gourdin, Montesano, 92-97-189. 27-t, Makena Blancas, Montesano, 93-97-190.

Missed the cut (local): Mercedes Carter, Elma, 98. Makenzie Hart, Montesano, 103. Ashley Hill, Montesano, 106. Itzia Armas-Enriquez, Hoquiam, 116.

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BOYS PREP GOLF

Monte’s Black places 17th against competitive state field

Montesano’s Aaron Black was the only Twin Harbors boys golfer to reach the second day of competition at the 1A State Boys Golf Championhships on Tuesday-Wednesday at the MeadowWood Golf Course in Liberty Lake.

Black shot an 80 over 18-holes on Tuesday as the only Bulldog to advance to the second round and followed up that up with a 77 in Wednesday’s final round to finish with a 157, placing 17th overall in what was a highly-competitive 1A-class field.

“The cut line was about 10 strokes lower than years prior showing how talent filled the field was. Aaron put together two phenomenal rounds. … We have so many positives to take away from our tournament,” Monte head coach Tyler Grajek said.

Three Bulldogs missed the cut after Day 1, with Caden Grubb (85), Ayhdn Sauer (89) and Niall Kohlmeier (93) bowing out after the first day of competition.

“Senior Ayhdn Sauer battled through a tough start, and although he did not make the cut, he has left our program in a much better place. His leadership contributions to this team have helped shape the culture of our program. Caden and Niall also followed suit playing great rounds. Both coming directly from our baseball team, with not much practice time, played great,” Grajek said. “Coach Grubb and I are extremely proud of each of these young men for how they handled themselves. They are true professionals and are great representatives of our program.”

Individual results (top 10 and local)

1-tie, Carson Clinton, Chelan, 67-68-135*. 1-t, Christian Harlow, King’s Way Christian, 70-65-135. 3, Justin Chen, The Bush School, 66-72-138. 4, Aydin Mawjee, The Bush School, 69-72-141. 5-t, Aidan Swafford, Life Christian Academy, 72-73-145. 5-t, Zeke Proclw, Cascade Christian, 75-70-145. 7, Blake Gregory, Cascade Christian, 73-73-146. 8, Rane Divers, Life Christian Academy, 79-68-147. 9-t, Tyler Kim, Charles Wright Academy, 77-71-148. 9-t, Matthew Blankenburg, Meridian, 74-74-148. 17, Aaron Black, Montesano, 80-77-157.

Missed the cut: Caden Grubb, Montesano, 85. Ayhdn Sauer, Montesano, 89. Niall Kohlmeier, Montesano, 93.

*playoff winner

Team standings

1, The Bush School, 76 points. 2, Cascade Christian, 67.5. 3, Life Christian Academy, 65.5. 4, King’s Way Christian, 48.5. 5, Meridian, 39.5. 6, Seattle Christian, 21. 7, Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls), 15. 8, Lynden Christian, 13.